Qianqing Palace.

The windows in the Dongnuan Pavilion were bright and clean, and the orthodox emperor was sitting next to the imperial case in a bright yellow dragon robe, and two little eunuchs knelt on the ground to rub his legs. In the corner of the main hall, in the special incense burner offered by Goryeo, the soothing incense turned into curling smoke and slowly rose.

The orthodox emperor is getting older, and his energy is getting weaker and weaker, not to mention that he is not a diligent emperor in the first place. After Yang Pei told the old man to return to the field, the cabinet became more and more unmanned, and many affairs could not be handled.

Orthodoxy is quite dissatisfied with the cabinet, but there is nothing to be done. A government master like Yang Peishi belongs to the type that can be encountered. Although these old men in the cabinet are not capable, they are still diligent, and if they are also vacant, there will really be no one to work for him.

Managing such a large empire alone, don't say that he can't succeed, even Taizu and Taizong can't succeed.

Chen Jia knelt three feet away from the emperor, holding a copy of the cover of yellow silk in his hand. Orthodoxy squinted and listened, nodding from time to time. After Chen Jia finished reading, he asked: "What is the cabinet vote to be written?" ”

Chen Jia read the disposal opinions drawn up by the elders, and the orthodox thought it was right, so he said: "Accurate!" Chen Jia picked up the red pen and copied the proposed opinions written by the elders on the note on the fold, and the eunuch Meng Chong knelt farther away.

After the approval of the recital, it will be handed over to the General Administration Department, which will distribute it to each yamen for execution in accordance with the emperor's approval.

Chen Jia is responsible for writing for the emperor, so he is called the eunuch of Bingbi, and Meng Chong is responsible for sealing, so he is called the eunuch of palm print. Sometimes the emperor was lazy or greedy for fun, and did not do his job, but he could not do his job, so he would hand over all the work of reviewing the chapters to the eunuchs of Bingbi and the eunuchs of the palm prints.

The eunuchs actually share a part of the yellow power, and their power is sometimes even greater than that of the cabinet, so it's no wonder that these eunuchs are called "inner ministers"!

When encountering a mediocre emperor, the eunuch can even cover the sky with one hand and control the fate of the entire empire. Representative figure: Wei Zhongxian!

Of course, to be like Wei Zhongxian, you also need the right time, place and people, although the orthodox emperor is not so stupid, Chen Jia wants to be Wei Zhongxian, at least not now.

Chen Jia approved a few books, his hands were a little sore, he moved his wrist, picked up a book and just read a sentence: "Chenhu Branch gave Zuo Zhong a bloody ...... in the matter" When he read this, he suddenly lost his voice.

The orthodox emperor was a little tired after listening to the recital for half a day, so he just opened his eyes and asked, "Why don't you read it?" ”

Chen Jia was really a little distracted when he held this fold. How did this thing get to the Emperor?

According to the regulations of the Great Chu, all internal and external documents and sealed appeals of the subjects must be submitted to the emperor through the General Administration Department. And the number one leader of the General Administration Department, Huang Zhengzhen, is the protégé of Xiao Zongchang and the confidant of Xiao Dang.

This twist and turn is obviously not good for the Xiao family and not good for King Zhao, but why can it go straight to the front of the emperor? It is expected that Huang Zhengzhen will not dare to hide the fold privately, but he can suppress this letter for a day or two, and at the same time reveal the news to the Xiao family, with the power of the Xiao family, he can naturally shut up a petty official from the seventh grade.

And now that this letter has appeared here, it means that someone must have done something to it!

Chen Jianai is an extremely smart person, and as soon as the thought turned in his mind, he knew that Lu Dao had this ability, and only those big guys in the DPRK and China could do this! It is obvious that someone does not want to let King Zhao take the throne as soon as possible, but this person's purpose coincides with him, and he will naturally help to add fuel to the fire.

Chen Jia said respectfully: "This piece is about ...... Please also see it for yourself! "The so-called family ugliness should not be publicized, and this letter should not be read out!

The emperor's eyes opened slightly, glanced at Chen Jia, showed a puzzled look, and said, "Present it to me!" ”

The little eunuch respectfully presented the fold to the imperial review, and looked at it with a frown: "This, this is really nonsense!" After he finished reading it, he angrily threw the song to the ground: "The good daughter of the Xiao family!" I didn't want my son to marry the daughter of his family, but the Xiao family and the imperial concubine repeatedly persuaded me, and I got their way, I didn't expect the Xiao family to be so bold and poison the wife of the court official at will, is there still national law and imperial constitution in her eyes? ”

This fold is naturally that the family branch who poisoned his wife from the seven products gave the matter, and the upper fold shouted for the wife who died unjustly and demanded that the murderer be severely punished.

The emperor was so angry that he hurried through the hall, and the piece was thrown to the ground, and no one dared to pick it up. For a while, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a needle falling.

The emperor lost his temper and slowly calmed down. Since the emperor confined the crown prince in Yuqing Palace, rumors that the emperor wanted to abolish the crown prince have quietly spread in the court. For a while, the ministers of the DPRK and China wrote one after another to expose the evil deeds of the prince, although they could not be trusted, but the prince's unpopularity can be seen.

The emperor had no determination to abolish the crown prince, but he was a little shaken by the quarrel of these ministers.

Just looking at the opposition of so many people, even if he really handed over the country to the prince, he will not be able to sit firmly as an emperor in the future!

At this moment, Xiao Yunqian made such a thing!

The Qi family rules the country and the world, and even the family can't be together, how can they govern the country and the world? Xiao Yunqian can feel this kind of thing,

No matter how King Zhao has to bear the charge of not governing his family strictly, his reputation will be lightly affected. Those who want to take refuge in King Zhao will inevitably think about it, Xiao Yunqian is not a queen yet, she dares to act so boldly, if she becomes a queen in the future, who can still have a sense of security?

King Zhao is young and shallow, and he does not have the great military exploits of Ye Yichen, to be the crown prince and further become the emperor, it was the most undesirable time, Xiao Yunqian was tantamount to stabbing King Zhao in the soft underbelly!

The emperor walked around the hall twice and slowly calmed down. It is not so much that he dislikes Xiao Yunqian, but that he has begun to dislike the Xiao family.

In the eyes of parents, their children are good. Even if the crown prince is not successful, the orthodoxy wants to abolish him and set up another king of Zhao, he is more concerned that the prince can't keep the foundation of his ancestors, even if he wants to abolish him, he must not let the new monarch take the throne and kill him.

He doesn't have many sons, but he still has a loving father's heart to protect him.

He also had a trace of jealousy towards King Zhao, but jealousy was jealousy, and at this time he wanted to keep King Zhao's reputation even more, so he instructed Chen Jiadao: "You draw up Zhu Approval for me, and ask Yin Zhangquan of Shuntian Mansion to thoroughly investigate this case, you can't indulge the wicked, and you can't wronged a good person!" ”

Yin Zhang Quan of Shuntian Mansion is the in-law of the Xiao family, and Zhang Quan's cousin is Concubine Xiao's sister-in-law and Xiao Yunqian's mother-in-law. asked Zhang Quan to preside over the case, and the emperor's intention was obvious, and he wanted to suppress this matter.

The emperor's order was over, but Chen Jia said: "Long live, no!" ”

The emperor was slightly stunned, this was the first time Chen Jia refuted his words. He was very fond of Chen Jia, but he was not angry, but just asked, "What?" Do you have anything to say? ”

Meng Chong was on the side, but he was scared into a cold sweat.

Chen Jia kowtowed and said: "The emperor doesn't know that Princess Zhao poisoned the wife of the court official, and now it has been rumored and everyone knows about it. "His West Factory is in charge of scouting intelligence, and of course he knows this very well.

Orthodoxy frowned: "Since you already know, why don't you come and tell me?" ”

Chen Jia said unhurriedly: "It's really that the slave has always felt that this matter is incredible, so he wants to report it to the saint after verifying it!" "Xiao Yunqian's work is indeed a little unbelievable, and Chen Jia's careful writing can be reasonable.

The emperor nodded, expressing his approval of his explanation, and said, "Go on!" ”

Chen Jiadao: "Now that this letter has been approved by the cabinet, it will not be long before everyone knows about it. This case was supposed to be tried by the Criminal Department, but now that the emperor has handed it over to Shuntian Mansion, the relationship between the Xiao family and the Zhang family is that kind of relationship, this kind of disposition, I'm afraid it will chill the ministers! This can be seen from the cabinet's vote. ”

The orthodox was so angry just now that they didn't look carefully at what was written on the cabinet ticket. Orthodoxy was silent for a moment, nodded and said, "Show it to me!" ”

Chen Jia stepped forward, picked up the notebook, and respectfully handed it to the orthodox. Orthodoxy opened the fold, and sure enough, he saw that there was a cabinet vote inside.

Since Yang Peishi left office, the first assistant of the cabinet has been served by Jiang Shixing, the original second assistant. Ding Ge, who betrayed Yang Shoufu, wanted to be the first assistant, but the cabinet is the place where the world is the cardinal, and the most important place to talk about seniority is that the emperor can't easily accept the cabinet leader.

Therefore, although Ding Ge Lao entered the cabinet as he wished, he had to wait until Jiang Shixing retired as the first assistant, or simply moved down Jiang Shixing.

This Jiang Shoufu is the most sleek, exquisite, no one wants to offend, and his hand is so muddy. The battle for the throne between the crown prince and King Zhao was in full swing, but Jiang Shoufu was impartial, and no one could offend each other. Anyway, the official has become the maximum, and political speculation is not interesting.

Therefore, Jiang Shoufu has always been gentle, and the orthodox emperor often reads the tickets he writes, and is very impressed by his upright handwriting.

As a result, as soon as I opened the notebook, I saw Jiang Shoufu's cursive writing with dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, and I wanted to fly out of the paper: "There is such a ridiculous thing in the world? It's really appalling and sensational! The Zongren Mansion will work with the Criminal Department to thoroughly investigate the case within a time limit and severely punish the murderer! ”

Jiang Shoufu is also an old man in his sixties, and it can be seen that he is angry when he can write such a stroke. Being able to make a smiling tiger good at making an old fox with mud like this shows the attitude of the cabinet.

Orthodoxy understands it after a little thought.

The official position in the household department from the seventh grade is small, but it is also a serious two-rank jinshi background. Since the Sui Dynasty first opened the precedent of Jinshi to take scholars, after several dynasties brewing, the system has been very perfect. Because of the three-year competition, there are only more than 200 people each time, which attracts much attention, so the sense of identity is also relatively strong. Those who came from Jinshi often relied on the same year (the same subject and the same rank), fellow villagers, and a network of teachers and students to operate, forming a huge political power.

This is the clique of civil officials. It can be said that it is not the emperor who really rules the world, but this so-called civil bureaucracy. They seem to be loose and do not have a formal and coherent organization, but once their interests are damaged, they will attack them en masse.

Legally speaking, officials have to listen to the emperor, but after all, the officials did not sell themselves to the royal family, and they were not royal slaves. It's not for the royal family to do whatever they want. Civil officials pay the most attention to integrity, and Xiao Yunqian is so careless of human life that she slaps the face of the entire civil official group.

Because all the cabinet elders are from Jinshi, they are the core of the entire civil official group, at this moment, Jiang Shoufu has to stand up and speak for this petty official from the seventh rank no matter how much he wants to hide, otherwise, his reputation in the middle of the Qingliu will be ruined, and his future political future will be ruined.

The orthodox emperor can imagine that if Chen Jia issued the edict according to the order he had just ordered, tomorrow there would be loyal ministers to admonish him in person, and there would be countless bullet seals written by countless officials and imperial histories, and snowflakes would fly to Ouchi and put them on his imperial case. There are not a few officials and imperial historians who have good reputations, and for this reason, they even dare to scold the emperor!

Thinking about this scene, the orthodox emperor also shuddered!

Under the control of a pair of invisible hands, the nature of this matter has become more and more serious!

Xiao Yunqian, this time it's a big deal!

The orthodox emperor sighed and waved his hand: "That's it! The Pope's Mansion will investigate this case thoroughly with the Shuncheon Mansion! "He doesn't want to offend the entire civilian clique for an unreliable daughter-in-law.

After the end, Shuntianfu was also involved, which was also regarded as a way for the Xiao family and left a way for Xiao Yunqian.

……

Syllable!

A fine porcelain teacup was heavily slammed to the ground, broken porcelain splashed everywhere, and the viscous liquid in it wet the thin velvet carpet imported by the Franc machine, and the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall bowed their heads and shoulders, holding their breath, and did not dare to take a breath.

Concubine Xiao stood at the top, her phoenix eyes were threatening, and she was so angry that her body was trembling.

"This stupid woman!" Concubine Xiao stroked her forehead and said hatefully: "The Xiao family is shrewd, how could they raise such a stupid thing!" Knowing this, I should have fulfilled the emperor's wishes...... "It's too late to say anything now!"

The eldest aunt is Concubine Xiao's nurse, and she has watched Concubine Xiao grow up since she was a child, and she knows about this public case in Xiao Mansion. Xiao Yunqian's biological father is Concubine Xiao's sibling brother, the son of the Marquis of Jinghai, Xiao Yunqian's biological mother is the only daughter of the late Marquis of Xiangyang, and her identity is also extremely noble.

It's just that her biological mother died of a serious illness when Xiao Yunqian was eight years old, and Xiao Shizi married another daughter from Wuxiangbo's Mansion to fill the house. At that time, Concubine Xiao had been in the palace for many years, because she gave birth to the second son of the emperor and was named a concubine, and the Wuxiangbo Mansion was declining, Xiao Yunqian's stepmother faced such a noble lady, she didn't dare to beat or scold, and she didn't even dare to educate.

At this time, only the eldest aunt dared to persuade Concubine Xiao: "Niangniang, you must dissipate your anger, how many things are waiting for you to do here and outside, even the prince depends on your help in the palace, what if you get sick!" After all, the princess is young and vigorous, if there is anything wrong, you should mention this, that is. It's not right to poison a petty official's wife like this! With you and the old lady here, just smooth out this matter! ”

The eldest aunt saw it, isn't it easy for a petty official from the seventh rank to be at the mercy of it?

The eldest aunt lacks political sensitivity, and Concubine Xiao really understands it. "If she came to me as soon as she did this, this palace naturally has a way to help her smooth out this matter. But now that this matter has reached the heavens, and the fold has been sent to the cabinet for a vote, it has passed the clear road, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to be good for a while, and if it is not good, even the future of the emperor will be mistaken by her! This little hoof who has more than enough success and more than failure! ”

Concubine Xiao sat back on the chair tiredly, rubbing her temples, the eldest aunt didn't understand the power of this, but she knew the huge strength of the Daoist civil official group, and she didn't bother to explain to the eldest aunt, just said: "Go and pass the princess in, the palace has something to ask her!"

At this time, Xiao Yunqian, the initiator, was still sitting in her own palace to listen to the play, and the distant cousin who provoked her to cause trouble was also flattered during the banquet, not knowing that she had caused a big disaster.

The play was listening to the excitement, and someone reported that someone was coming to the palace. Xiao Yunqian sent the housekeeper to pick her up, but it was the eldest aunt of Chengqian Palace who came in.

Xiao Yunqian stood up in surprise: "Aunt Xiang, why are you here?" "Aunt Xiang is also an important person who will never leave Concubine Xiao. It was Xiao Yunqian who felt strange when she saw her.

The eldest aunt gave Xiao Yunqian a salute, and Xiao Yunqian asked, "I don't know if I come here to Aunt Xiang, is there anything wrong?" ”

The eldest aunt said in a stiff tone: "Niangniang invites the princess to the palace, there is something important to discuss!" ”

Xiao Yunqian was not surprised, and said: "Please sit down with your mother, wait for the princess to change her clothes, and then go to see her mother with her aunt." ”

The eldest aunt said, "No need! Niangniang's affairs are urgent, please leave the princess immediately! Xiao Yunqian felt that something was wrong, and she was about to ask, but the eldest aunt had already pointed to her cousin behind her and asked, "Who is this person?" ”

Xiao Yunqian smiled and introduced: "This is my distant cousin, surnamed Gu!" ”

The eldest aunt's shrewd eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked her cousin Gu up and down, and saw that she was wearing gold and silver, and she looked a little beautiful, but her eyes were very smart, and she looked restless.

The eldest aunt asked lightly, "Your surname is Gu?" ”

Cousin Gu didn't expect that the eldest aunt in the palace also knew about her, and she felt very honored for a while, so she hurriedly stepped forward and gave a deep salute: "If you go back to the eldest aunt, the maiden's family is surnamed Gu!" ”

The eldest aunt said gloomily: "Then you can't be wrong." After saying this, he turned back and ordered: "Come on, take down this ignorant slut who is holding the princess with me!"

When the eldest aunt entered the door, she brought a few sturdy grandmothers in the palace, and after listening to the call of the eldest aunt, they surrounded the generals together, and tied up Cousin Gu in three times and two times.

Cousin Gu was so frightened that she asked urgently; "I don't know what mistake the folk girl has made, my aunt wants to treat me like this?"

While begging Xiao Yunqian for help: "Princess Niangniang save me!" The eldest aunt snorted coldly, ignored her cousin, and only said to a few grandmothers: "Are you all dead, and don't look at what kind of place this is, just ask her to call here indiscriminately, and don't gag her mouth for me!" ”

The grandmothers skillfully took out a dirty rag and directly blocked Cousin Gu's mouth.

Xiao Yunqian was also stunned by her aunt's actions, but when she reacted, she was furious: "Aunt Xiang, what do you mean?" I respect you for serving in front of your mother for many years, and call you an aunt, how dare you rely on your mother's power to come to me to spread wild? How dare you take even my guests? ”

The eldest aunt saw that Xiao Yunqian's mind hadn't turned around yet, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart, this master was really stupid to a certain level.

She saluted respectfully and said: "As the princess said, the slave maid is just a subordinate, how dare she spread wild in the palace, the reason why she tied up this cousin Gu was all on the order of the mother!" Niangniang is now waiting for the princess in Chengqian Palace, let's set off quickly, if we go late, the slave and maid can't afford to eat! ”

Xiao Yunqian saw that she carried out Concubine Xiao, and her heart was even more unhappy. Said: "I won't tell you, I'll go and tell my aunt to go, I can't cure you, naturally there are people who can cure you." After that, he took his personal maid and followed the carriage of the eldest aunt and went straight to the Chengqian Palace.

When Xiao Yunqian entered the Chengqian Palace, she saw Concubine Xiao sitting upright, her face was like ice, and there were all grandmothers from the Shen Criminal Division standing behind her, all of them had a layer of evil aura on their bodies, they had lived in the Shen Criminal Division for a long time, and they didn't know how many lives there were in their hands.

The atmosphere of Chengqian Palace is like a dark cloud cover.

Xiao Yunqian suddenly became a little timid, and forgot about the complaint. Just as she was about to step forward to salute, Concubine Xiao had already shouted: "Kneel!" ”

Xiao Yunqian is not afraid of heaven and earth in her life, and the only two people she is afraid of are her biological father and her aunt.

Hearing the endless anger and majesty hidden in Concubine Xiao's words, Xiao Yunqian knelt down as soon as her knees weakened.

Concubine Xiao asked again: "Bring Cousin Gu to the palace!" ”

Xiao Yunqian was already stunned at this time, Cousin Gu was dragged in by a few grandmothers. He still had that dirty handkerchief in his mouth. Seeing such a murderous formation, I was already so frightened that my legs were weak.

Xiao Yunqian was about to say something, but Concubine Xiao had already instructed the grandmother on the side: "Take the handkerchief from this cheap maid's mouth!" ”

Before Xiao Yunqian had time to be happy, the next sentence made her stunned: "Open your mouth for this palace for twenty first!" ”

The so-called opening of the mouth in the palace is not to pump the mouth, but to hit people in the face with a kind of bamboo board. The criminal law is extremely cruel.

Before Cousin Gu could understand, when she heard this, she almost collapsed to the ground in fright, and shouted, "Niang Niang spare her life!" ”

Before the sentence was finished, the executing grandmother had already surrounded her, and the thick bamboo board fell on Cousin Gu's face fiercely, making a sensational snapping sound.

Cousin Gu screamed loudly, but Concubine Xiao felt still angry, and just said, "Fight!" Hit me hard! ”

Xiao Yunqian originally wanted to intercede with Cousin Gu, but when she saw this situation, she suddenly didn't dare to speak more.

After the twenty boards were played, Cousin Gu's cheeks were raised high, and the disfigurement was certain. After the execution, she even opened her mouth and spat out a mouth full of teeth.

Cousin Gu received this punishment, and the world was already spinning, lying on the ground for half her life.

Xiao Yunqian looked creepy, but Concubine Xiao still had that expressionless demeanor. She said lightly: "Say, tell the little good things that the two of you have done, from beginning to end, to this palace!" ”